New Zealand

Trees light up cities for Xmas

Christmas will be a show of lights in both Auckland and Wellington this year, with Telecom announcing plans to bring their Telecom Tree’s to both cities.Alan Gourdie, Telecom’s CEO of Retail says more than 80,000 people visited the Telecom Tree in Auckland last year. The tree will be located at Western Park on Ponsonby Rd this year, moving from Victoria Park due to construction. Opening night is scheduled for Saturday November 28.The Telecom Tree will be making its debut in Wellington at Frank Kitts Park on December 1.The 26 metre-high trees are constructed from 37,000 lights and have 16 million possible colour combinations. Each tree also provides a place for children to ring the North Pole direct for phone boxes at the base of the tree.In Auckland, Starship, New Zealand’s national children’s hospital, is the official charity. Guests are encouraged to bring an old mobile phone for Starship’s mobile phone recycling appeal to place in gift boxes under the tree.In Wellington, visitors are invited to bring gifts of toys to leave under the tree. Women’s Refuge will distribute those gifts to children in their homes around New Zealand in time for Christmas morning.